NIH Celebrates 25 Years of OBSSR, Issues an RFI regarding Animal Research

July 9, 2020

Though the COVID-19 pandemic has brought public attention primarily to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a whole has continued to advance the fields of brain and behavioral sciences in June and July.

July 1 marked the 25th anniversary of the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research’s (OBSSR) founding. Dr. Norman B. Anderson, PhD of Florida State University served as its first Director. Though

NIH Announces Preprint Pilot

June 17, 2020

The urgency of finding a cure and vaccine for COVID-19 underscores the need for enhanced rigor and broader discovery and distribution of early research results. To this end, National Library of Medicine (NLM) has announced the NIH Preprint Pilot to increase discoverability of preprints — complete, pre-peer review public drafts of scientific documents.

Building on the March 2017 NIH Guide Notice (NOT-OD-17-050), the pilot will test the possibility

Societal Experts Action Network Connects Scientists to Policy Makers

June 17, 2020

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, with support from the National Science Foundation, has created the Societal Experts Action Network (SEAN). The project’s goal is to connect decision makers leading the response to COVID-19 with behavioral and social science researchers able to inform critical local, state, and federal policy and practice responses to the pandemic.

On June 11, SEAN released a rapid expert consultation guide to support leaders

Societies Consortium Provides Guidance on Inclusivity in Virtual Meetings

June 4th, 2020

The Societies Consortium on Sexual Harassment in STEMM held a virtual conference on May 21st entitled “Effective Approaches to Adopting Inclusive Conduct and Honors Policies”. While virtual meetings have the potential to faciliate access for some people, they can also create additional complications for vulnerable groups. In some cases, proper measures and sensitivity can address these barriers. Interacting in cyberspace is known to elicit a different set of